Many parts of the brain are involved in controlling the activities of the body and our emotions. Our brain controls all forms of emotions with the help of a bundle of hormones and neurotransmitters and actively manages our behavior in the three categories of love (Lust, Attraction, and Attachment) to help us to lead a healthy relationship with our partner. In our brain, there are certain parts, which allows us to encourage our emotions, such as motivation, pleasure, love, and sex for our partner.[1][2][3] Through this blog, I would like to explain the functions of each area of brain, which controls our emotions to lead a life full of love.

Areas of Brain involved in “Falling in Love”

The areas of the brain, such as Amygdala, Prefrontal Cortex, Ventral Tegmental Area, Cingulate Gyrus, Hippocampus, and Hypothalamus, are directly involved in falling in love with our partner. An individual’s feelings with positive emotions are linked to the Prefrontal Cortex area of our brain, whereas, negative emotions are connected to the Amygdala.[4][5]

Amygdala

• The brain area, Amygdala, is responsible for multiple emotional responses and sends projections to the Hypothalamus. Amygdala area plays a critical role in love-hate relationships by coordinating negative emotional responses (fear, anger, love, and sexual craving) to the environment by experiencing, processing, and recognizing each event and memories.
• However, any damages to the Amygdala or overstimulation will result in many abnormal emotional responses and excessive reactions. In this case, the individual will show perplexities such as fearlessness, hypersexual behavior, aggressiveness, and lack of emotions. Additionally, any of these damages or disorders will result in the risk of mental illness like depression and anxiety, make quick decisions, and lack of concentration.[6][7]

Prefrontal Cortex

• The Prefrontal Cortex is involved in cognitive functions by making positive decisions in response to emotions. The brain area, Thalamus, helps us to process information from the senses and translates them for the frontal cortex to make decisions by controlling our anxiety and emotions. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex processes our feelings of empathy, compassion, shame, and guilt.
• An individual with any disorders in Prefrontal Cortex experiences reduced emotional responses, and hence it negatively affects one’s ability to make decisions. In addition, they also possess a diminished capacity for social emotions and logical reasoning.[8][9]

Ventral Tegmental Area

• The Ventral Tegmental Area of the brain plays a vital role in reward, cognition, emotions, love, motivation, and pleasure.
• The neurotransmitter, Dopamine pathways are located in the Ventral Tegmental Area, which elevates the level of energy, happiness, focus, and mood. In addition, the Dopamine generated in Ventral Tegmental Area motivates us to find our partner and maintain a good relationship with the sweetheart.[10][11][12]

Cingulate Gyrus

• The Cingulate Gyrus acts as a path between the Thalamus and the Hippocampus and plays a vital role in memorizing emotional events by processing emotions (learning and remembering), and vocalization of emotions (speech and communication) and alerts the other part of our brain about its emotional significance.[13][14]
• Individuals with Cingulate Gyrus misfunctioning have problems in communicating with their partner, leading a good relationship, and adapting to changing situations. These individuals become easily angry, possess emotional outbursts, and aggressiveness. In addition, the disorders in the Cingulate Gyrus cause emotional and behavioral disorders such as depression, psychiatric disorders, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. In some cases, these individuals may also show addiction to drugs or alcohol and eating disorders.[15][16]

Hippocampus

• Hippocampus area is responsible for regulating learning, storing information (memory encoding and memory consolidation), emotional responses, and spatial navigation. In addition, Hippocampus plays an essential role in dealing with a stressful situation. The individual with developed Hippocampus can better deal with stress, and the people prone to depression have a shrunken Hippocampus [17][18]
• The Hippocampus receives inputs from neurotransmitter systems and sends signals to the adrenaline glands to produce hormones such as Adrenaline and Cortisol.[19]

Hypothalamus

• The Hypothalamus plays an important role in regulating our motivation, memory, and emotion, such as sexual desire, pleasure, aggression, and anger. This brain area analyzes each situation and controls the formation of memory by integrating our emotional states with our memories and past experiences.[20]
• In addition, the Hypothalamus triggers the release of hormones and neurochemicals (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Vasopressin) in response to the brain signals associated with mood, love, and pleasure. [21][22]
• The overstimulation, or any disorders in Hypothalamus can trigger aggression, which may result in the lack of motivation or absence of emotions. In addition, the damage of the Hypothalamus may cause insufficient or increased release of hormones, which will lead to many diseases like Hypopituitarism. Hypopituitarism has symptoms such as depression, eating disorders, mood swings, sexual impotence, fatigue, headache, and vision disturbance.[23]

Conclusion

All brain areas interact with each other to make us feel sometimes fantastic with “falling in love” and occasionally heartbroken with “falling out of love”. Any misfunctioning or damage in any of these brain areas may lead to a broken relationship associated with depression, and other anxiety or psychiatric disorders. Now you know the answer to the title of this blog.

References

[1] Helen E Fisher et al., Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 2002, 413-419.

[2] Helen E Fisher, Human Nature, 9, 1998, 23-52.

[3] Helen E Fisher, Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 25, 2000, 96-104.

[4] Louise Bonnet et al., Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9, 2015, 1-12

[5] Johnmarshall Reeve, Understanding Motivation and Emotion, Wiley publications, 2014

[6] Tobias Esch et al., Neuroendocrinology Letters, 26, 2005, 175-192.

[7] Davis M et al., Molecular Psychiatry, 6, 2001, 13-34.

[8] Roberts A C et al., The prefrontal cortex: Executive and cognitive functions. Oxford University Press, 1998.

[9] Wayne C Drevets et al., Nature, 386, 1997, 824-827

[10] Helen Fisher et al., Journal of Comparative Neurology, 493, 2005, 58-62.

[11] Anne C Trutti et al., NeuroImage, 191, 2019, 258-268.

[12] Ruolei Gu et al., Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 100, 2019, 108-128.

[13] Edmund T Rolls, Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 166, 2019, 23-37.

[14] Stephanie Cacioppo et al., Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 9, 2012, 3-13.

[15] Elizabeth A Osuch et al., Biology Psychiatry, 48, 2000, 1020-1023.

[16] Charles H Kellner et al., Psychiatry Research, 36, 1991, 45-49.

[17] Johnston Daniel et al., The synaptic organization of the brain, Oxford University Press, 2004, 455-498.

[18] Squire Larry R et al., The cognitive neurosciences, 1995, 825-837.

[19] Lathe R, The Journal of Endocrinology, 169, 2001, 205-231.

[20] Lisa M Diamond et al., Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 9, 2012, 39-46.

[21] Evelyn Mercado et al., Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11, 2017, 1-12

[22] Marazziti Donatella, Current Psychiatry Reviews, 1, 2005, 331-335.

[23] Greisa Vila et al., The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105, 2020, 112